UN nuclear inspectors are beginning a visit to Syria to investigate claims that it was building a nuclear reactor.

The International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) four person team will spend three days examining the al-Kibar site in the desert in northern Syria.

The site was bombed by Israeli jets in September 2007. The ruins were bulldozed after the attack.

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The report of the IAEA inspectors will be eagerly awaited, but their visit is likely to be kept well away from the press, the BBC's Jim Muir reports.

In April, Washington released pictures purporting to show North Korean experts inside the construction, which it said closely resembled a North Korean reactor at Yongbyon.

Syria has repeatedly denied it has any nuclear weapons programme, or any such agreement with North Korea.

Syrian officials have said the bombed site was an unused military facility under construction, but deny that it had anything to do with a nuclear programme.

IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei has criticised both what he saw as a US delay in releasing information on the Syrian site and Israel's bombing of the site before his agency could inspect it.

Ahead of the visit, Mr ElBaradei called on Syria to show "absolute transparency" and to give the inspectors access to all sites they wished to see.

Syria has agreed to allow the IAEA access the al-Kibar site, but not another three the nuclear watchdog is said to be interested in visiting.

(BBC)

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